Iranian energy projects represent a $167 billion opportunity for regional and international companies, as the Persian Gulf state prepares for the lifting of sanctions.
According to the latest data from Dubai-based MEED Projects, an online projects tracking service, there are 197 energy (oil, gas, petrochemical, industry and utilities) projects either planned or underway in Iran, a number that could well double as sanctions are gradually lifted.
The largest single project in the Iranian energy sector is the estimated $4.5 billion Kish Gas Development, followed by the $3.2 billion Anahita Oil Refinery in western Iran. Other major projects include the $3 billion Nalco Aluminum Complex and the $2.5 billion Jask Oil Terminal project, Gulf News reported.
Due to the sanctions, much of Iran’s energy infrastructure requires upgrading and modernization, particularly with technology that was previously unavailable.
Based on the MEED Projects' installed asset database, there are more than 200 facilities commissioned over the past 15 years in the country with an asset value in excess of $100 billion and a further 250 projects built before 2000 that require substantial brownfield investment.
“With a GDP of some $400 billion, a population of close to 80 million, and the world’s largest gas and fourth largest oil reserves, Iran has long represented an excellent projects opportunity,” says Ed James, director for content and analysis at MEED Projects.
“However, it is only now with the impending lifting of sanctions that international companies have the opportunity to invest in the local projects market for the first time in a decade.”
MEED said that with the exception of 2010, the value of energy contracts has declined from a peak of $21.1 billion in 2005 to just $6.9 billion last year. Oil producers such as BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc have expressed interest in developing Iran’s reserves once sanctions are removed. Iran is organizing a conference in London in December to discuss new oil contract models with international companies.
